Carb cycling vs feast and fast

(Dorothy) #1

Body builders tend to promote carb cycling which seems very similar to feast and fast with this main difference: 1) fast days are very low carb and high fat and feast days are very high carb but low fat. So, in a feast/fast mode what kinds of food do you recommend on the feast day?

#2

I would argue that it is very different because the carb cycling will take you out of ketosis. Maybe if you are well adapted and have lucky genes, you will slip straight back in but most wont so this is going to result in a lot of days of nasty!

#3

There was a recent podcast (#31) on keto athlete with Dr Jacob Wilson and in summary carb cycling was not a good strategy for body builders. There is no need for high carb, unless you are an Olympic athlete competing in an explosive event. For mere mortals carbs from real food is more than enough, in my opinion.

(Dorothy) #4

Thank you, I will definitely check out that podcast. Just to clarify however, the high carbs that are recommended is from real food (mostly sweet potatoes, oatmeal and fruit etc.) but they say you have to go very low in fat on those days. They’re not really promoting junk food.

(Todd Allen) #5

I think it depends on the reason one is eating keto. If it is only to lose fat and one also wants to build fast twitch glycolytic muscle then experiment away, log what you do and the results achieved. We are all different though so apple pie might have worked well for Arnold Schwarzenegger when young but would probably just make me fat. If one is diabetic even sweet potatoes and oatmeal may unduly spike blood glucose. Even non-diabetics can have issues with carbs after a period of deep ketosis and some recommend gradually reintroducing carbs over a few days.

(eat more) #6

when i first started i thought maybe i’d do CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet) and then it didn’t make sense for me…like constantly playing catch up but you can never actually catch up…so wheel spinning
same as all the folks that eat clean/workout/go to bed early M-F and then party and eat whatever until 3am on the weekend.
and anyway…carbs are boring without fat :blush:

i noticed that i do “break” on Sunday (totally unplanned…just happened) and all that means for me is that i eat whatever i want in any amount i want as long as it’s keto. i’m sure i’m still under my carb limit.
it’s a good mental break and still enough of a change in intake to shake things up